Nominations for the inaugural Lexington Music Awards, which takes place Feb. 22, 2015 at the Lyric Theatre, were solicited from the public late last year via the event’s social media outlets. After a painstakingly counting the votes from the hundreds of ballots that were submitted, organizer David McLean narrowed down the official nominees to the top four vote-getters in each category. Individual nominees (or a representative from each band that was nominated) were then asked to vote on a winner in each category; those votes will determine the winners, which will be announced and presented at the awards ceremony.
Click here to read more about the awards ceremony.
Best in Industry Categories:
Best Live Music Venue
Cosmic Charlie's
Natasha's
Willie's
Austin City
Best Music Store (instruments)
Willcutt
Guitar Center
Doo Wop
Willis
Best Music Company (CD and music sales, labels, agents, arts organizations, etc.)
CD Central
Pops Resale
Long Island Recording
Best Recording Studio / Engineer / Producer
Sneak Attack / Jason Groves
Elephant Rooms / Erik Nystrom
Media Brain / Matt Ballenger
Best Music Educator
Paulie Felice
Kevin Holm-Hudson
JD Wright
Ben Davis
Best Live Soundman
Phil Osborne
Matthew Florez
James Rutledge
Best DJ (radio)
Dead Air Dennis -WKQQ
Joe Conkright - WUKY
Deirdre Ransdell - WLXX
Best Instrument Repair / Builders / Customization
Willcutt
RS Guitarworks
Blackrider
Currier's Music
Best Artist in Style Categories:
Americana / Folk
Maggie Lander
Michael Johnathon
Carla Gover
Blues
Tee Dee Young
Bryan Himes
D Jay Rice
Classical
Jay Flippin
Dieter Hennings
Lexington Philharmonic
Country / Bluegrass
Corey Kenton
Avery Crabtree
Scott Said & Backroads
Funk / R&B / Reggae
G-Funk
Kung Fu Grip
Dublove Reggae Band
Soul Funkin Dangerous
Hip-Hop / Rap
Hybrid the Rapper
Re-education Camp
Drix (Jordan Driskell)
Jazz / Latin / Big Band / World
Big Maracas
DOJO (DiMartino Osland Jazz Orchestra)
Soljam (Palmer Tolly, Robert Trott, Jeana Pillion, Paul Osbourne)
Pop
Rhyan Sprague
Sydney Cubit
Kung Fu Grip
Albert Oberst
Rock
All the Little Pieces
Grimsley Rose
Zen Highway
Floraburn
Singer-songwriter
Albert Oberst
Sydney Cubit
Rhyan Sprague
Maggie Lander
Cover Band / Variety Act
See Alice
Lexington Lab Band
Twiggenburys
Radio 80
Song of the Year
“Footsteps” - Albert Oberst
“Know My Name” - Grimsley Rose
“Black Horse” - Avery Crabtree & Josh Brock
Best Artist in Performance Categories:
Female Vocalist (any style)
Rhyan Sprague
Sydney Cubit
Mandy Reichert
Julia Knight
Male Vocalist (any style)
Avery Crabtree
Albert Obesrst
Vincent Grino
Drummer / percussionist
Vincent Grino
Chad Gravitt
Tony Hammons
Guitarist
Ben Lacy
Todd Stricklin
Keith Flora
Bassist
Sam Skaggs
Jason Groves
Cody Jones
Jams Weeks (Richard Twiggenbury)
Keyboardist
Kevin Holm-Hudson
Palmer Tolly
Lucas Hippe
Wind / Brass
Miles Osland
Adaryll Jordan
Skeets Pennington
Chase Clark
Strings (non guitar / bass)
Maggie Lander
Ben Sollee
Katie Penn-Williams
Paul Reich
Yoonie Choi
Community Service
Woodsongs Old-Time Radio All-Volunteer Crew
Best of the Bluegrass Festival
Kay Foley - photographer
Lifetime Achievement Recipients
Michael Johnathon
Jay Flippin
Loretta Lynn
Bill Monroe